Maciver Says Swastika Plague Showed Frustration, Not Anti-semitism

Dr. Robert MacIver, former Columbia University sociologist, asserted today that except in a handful of cases, none of the persons arrested in swastika daubings in the wave of incidents last winter showed any clear anti-Semitic attitudes. He said tests had indicated that the vandals felt frustrations and wanted to express opposition to authority.

Dr. MacIver contended that the principal reason spurring such activities was newspaper publicity. He attacked leading United States dailies for giving widespread publicity to George Lincoln Rockwell, self-appointed head of the so-called American Nazi Party. Dr. MacIver was one of the speaker at a session on anti-Semitism at a plenary meeting of the National Community Relation Advisory Council. The NCRAC is the policy-making, coordinating and clearance agency for six national and 51 local community relations organizations.

Paul Annes, co-chairman of the Governing Council of the American Jewish Congress, recommended additional legal weapons to combat what he described as a rise in anti-Semitism.

He proposed increased penalties for anti-Semitic violence, enactment of a federal group libel law, empowering the postmaster general to exclude anti-Semitic material from the mails, investigation by the U.S. Congress of anti-Semitic groups, placement of anti-Semitic groups on the Attorney General’s list of subversive organizations, banning public meetings by anti-Semitic groups and enactment of federal and state laws to make advocacy of anti-Semitic activities a criminal offense.